Thursday, 3 November 2016

“There is something unique in this
soil, which despite many obstacles has always remained the abode of great
souls.” ― Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

I am incredibly excited to inform you
that I received 10th International Prestigious Sardar Patel
Award―2015 for Lifetime Achievement in the field of "Excellence in Youth
Development” on October 31, 2016 which coincides with my birth anniversary. I
received this award from Shri Bimal Prasad Singh, the former Governor of Sikkim
in New Delhi, India. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Foundation gives away these
awards annually to various achievers for their contribution. It is a great
honor to receive this prestigious international award as Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel is one of the leaders I admire the most.

This award is recognition of my
services and contribution to youth development and youth empowerment. I started
a nonprofit ‘Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders’ to build one millions
students as global leaders and I have trained more than 30,000 students as
global leaders URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html I am passionate about developing students as
global leaders and I dedicate this award to global youth who are the real power
and on whose shoulders the future of the world depends.

Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel’s Profile

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born
on 31 October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat in India. He was a farmer by birth. He
became a lawyer and freedom fighter, and is revered as the ‘Iron Man of India.’
He is affectionately called Sardar (chief or leader in English) Vallabhbhai
Patel in India. He rose from humble origins. Mahatma Gandhi was his mentor. He
was a man of very few words and was firm in his convictions. He played a crucial
role for India’s Independence along with other leaders including Mahatma Gandhi
and Jawaharlal Nehru.

I admire Sardar Patel for his
exemplary leadership and will power. As
India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, he contributed greatly to
India’s unity and integrity. His heroic role to integrate princely states to
Indian federation is commendable. He demonstrated his political brilliance by
integrating Hyderabad state (Nizam) through police action. He was a charismatic
leader who had the ability to inspire people to join India’s freedom struggle.
He demonstrated it many times including Kheda and Bardoli agitations. His birth
anniversary is celebrated as National Unity Day in India. He died on 15
December 1950. Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai
Patel was conferred with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor in 1991.
Indian Government began celebrating his birth anniversary as Rashtriya Ekta
Diwas (National Unity Day) from 2014.

Leadership
Lessons from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

“Faith is of no avail in absence of
strength. Faith and strength, both are essential to accomplish any great work.”
― Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

There are several leadership lessons
to learn from him. Here are some them:

Be
Bold: He was a bold
leader who did not hesitate to make tough decisions in pre-Independent and
post-Independent India. He led from the
front without any fear or favor. He was unconcerned about unhealthy criticism.
He was courageous to integrate Hyderabad and Junagarh whose leaders resisted
joining India. He became a role model and inspiration for other freedom
fighters in India for his courageous decisions.

Be
Clear, Firm and Determined:
He was clear, firm and determined without any wavering mind. He was a team
leader and an amazing organization builder. He was decisive and believed in
straightforward leadership.

Be
a Decision-Maker: He
was a decision-maker. He proved critics wrong who predicted that India would
disintegrate soon after acquiring independence. He successfully integrated all
princely Indian states into Indian Union. He advocated Indian civil services
strongly and stood firmly when there was severe criticism against it. Hence, he
is also known as the "Patron saint of India's civil servants."

Be
a Strategist: He was
a great strategist with a strong vision to integrate India as one nation and as
a strong nation. His vision and strategy laid foundation stones for a strong
and vibrant India. Additionally, he was a troubleshooter who showed right
direction to the nation after attaining independence. He is highly admired for
accomplishing the integration of princely states of India.

Adopt
Carrot and Stick Policy:
He was practical leader who bridged the gap between idealism and realism. He
offered carrot to princely states to integrate into Indian Union. He adopted
stick policy for those who failed to fall in line.

Be
an Effective Negotiator:
He was a skillful negotiator who built consensus amongst the different castes
and communities through trust and transparency. He had the ability to carry all
sections of people with his persuasion and negotiation skills. Jawaharlal Nehru
once remarked, "Sardar Patel’s name will live forever in history. He is
the Architect of Modern India. He was a wise counselor in the hour of trial, a
trustworthy friend and a mine of courage and inspiration."

Learn
when to Hold and when to Fold:
He knew when to hold and when to fold. Once he made a decision, he never looked
back. He moved forward irrespective of the outcome. Most of his decisions were
successful. He had the courage and conviction. That is why he is also known as
the ‘Bismarck of India.’

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a unique
freedom fighter who had the moral courage to oppose great leaders including
Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on ideological issues. Several nations
failed to address their challenges when they acquired independence because they
did not have leaders like Sardar Patel.

Conclusion

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a
phenomenal leader of India. His actions spoke louder than words. He was the most
powerful man of his time. He is remembered for his political brilliance,
sacrifices and services. He was a great patriot and nationalist. His spirit is
still alive, energizing and guiding India currently. We need more Sardar Patels
to inspire Indian youth. Indian youth must learn lessons from Sardar Patel to
work for national unity and integrity.

In spite of having ideological
differences with Pundit Nehru Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked with team spirit
to ensure smooth transition from pre-independence to post-independence era. We
Indians are proud to have such a great nationalist and patriot. He was one of
the tallest Indian freedom fighters who will be remembered forever for his
contributions. We must emulate his ideas and ideals to build a secular, strong
and united India. Jai Hind!

“No distinctions of caste and creed
should hamper us. All are the sons and daughters of India. We should all love
our country and build our destiny on mutual love and help.” ― Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel

This is a nonprofit blog to share
Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global
leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by
email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright
is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in. This material may not be sold, or published
in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party
without permission.

Saturday, 1 October 2016

“An eye for an eye only ends up making
the whole world blind.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

It is untimely to write an article of
this kind imploring both India and Pakistan to stay united and collaborate
especially when the tensions are high across the Indo-Pakistan border. At the
same time, it is timely to write an article to preach and practice non-violence
and truth on the eve of Gandhiji’s birth anniversary which is celebrated on
October 02 every year. First let us address the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in
today’s world.

Is
Mahatma Gandhi’s Philosophy Relevant in Today’s World?

After the assassination of Mahatma
Gandhi many people opined that Gandhi would be forgotten soon and his
ideologies would fade away quickly. However, Gandhi and Gandhism still lives in
the hearts and minds of not only Indians but also the people across the world.
He is not only a national leader but also an international leader who
influenced many leaders including 6 Nobel laureates for Peace ― Martin Luther
King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Adolfo Perez Esquivel and
Barack Obama.

India
and Pakistan must Collaborate to Grow as a Super Power

Mahatma Gandhi was against the
partition of India. He always strove for unity among all religions and
communities. He wanted both Pakistanis and Indians to live like brothers. It is
time for these countries to join together to make a better world. Pakistanis
admire Indian film stars and Indians admire Pakistani singers. Why not to have
a synergy between both of us? Let us
forget our unpleasant past. Let us start our life on a clean slate. Both India
and Pakistan have brotherly relations for many years, and they cannot be
separated by these politicians through geographical borders.

The leaders who divided people are
always villains while the leaders who united people are always the heroes. When
you look at Abraham Lincoln who was the first Republican President and the 16th
President of America, he led during the turbulent times of Civil War in America
and became a hero because he emphasized the unity of America and finally
achieved it.

The politicians from India and
Pakistan were responsible for the division of India into two parts. It was
Mahatma Gandhi who pioneered the unity of India and Pakistan. When you look at
Pakistan, it could not grow rapidly due to division. If India and Pakistan
remained as one country, we would have grown as a super power by now. It is
unfortunate that the political leaders from India and Pakistan often indulge in
rhetoric against each other to incite people to cover up their internal
incapacities. These games must be checked. All efforts must be made to bring
both brothers together.

Competition kills while collaboration
thrills. India and Pakistan must collaborate to grow in all aspects to build a
better world. Conflicts bring ill-will among the people. Hence, bringing both
Pakistan and India under one platform is always good for both India and
Pakistan.

India and Pakistan must collaborate
forgetting their unpleasant past. The Indians and the Pakistanis are alike in
attitude and mindset. They are like brothers. The only difference is the
religion. But there are many religions in India who live together under one
roof with peace and harmony. Hence, it is very much possible for both Indians
and Pakistanis to unite and live like brothers. We lived together for many
years. We have been separated for only 69 years. When Germany could unite as one nation, why
not India and Pakistan unite as one nation?
Remember, everything is possible in the world. A right educational
system presenting both countries in a positive perspective will pave the way
for collaboration and unity between these two countries. Indians and Pakistanis
must avoid antagonistic attitude against each other to unite under one platform
to become a great country and a super power in the world. To summarize, India
and Pakistan are like brothers who have been separated by politicians. They
have similar culture, attitude and value system. They lived together for many
years. They share similar culture and value system. Separation of India and Pakistan
is only a geographical one, not psychological one. Both must work together to achieve
peace and prosperity.

Surgical
Strikes and Tensions across Indo-Pak Border

“If you want to make peace with your
enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” ―
Nelson Mandela

Currently the emotions are running
high in both countries after the Uri attacks. What is essential now is reason,
logic and analysis rather than being carried away by emotions.

While I appreciate the initiative taken
by our beloved Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to conduct surgical air
strikes, I implore him to exercise restraint as we Indians demonstrated our
might by avenging for Uri attacks. War is not the solution for any country in
the world. As a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, I sincerely believe that dialogue
is the only solution. If war is declared it does no good for both India and
Pakistan. It is beneficial for China and US. Are we here to benefit others? Are
we here to progress? We must think.

Mahatma
Gandhi is Mortal and his Philosophy is Immortal

I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and
Swami Vivekananda. 26 years ago, I read Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, The
Story of My Experiments with Truth when I was serving in Indian Air Force. I
was inspired by his ideas and ideals. I learned many things from this great
soul such as walking the talk, caring for others, respecting women, emphasizing
right means to achieve ends, and leading a simple life.

Mahatma Gandhi’s impact on mankind is
eternal. His ideals and ideas are immortal. In a nutshell, his principles are
eternal and his leadership is everlasting. The global citizens must contribute
their best without craving for any recognition, and take a pledge to inculcate
his principles and philosophies to build a better world.

Conclusion

Hatred doesn’t have any place in the
world. Love is the only way to connect with the world. Love breaks all barriers
including political, social, cultural, religious, racial and national. We are
all the branches of one tree. The root is one. The world is our root; branches
are the nations; and leaves are the people. Let us appreciate the fact that we
all have originated from one place and we all belong to one family. Hence, the
whole world is one family. Although we are separated by regions, nations, and
borders people remain the same at the core level. The children are born
innocent but the environment brings them up as per their faiths, regions,
religions and nations. Hence, let us focus on bringing the children with a
global mindset with a universal brotherhood to achieve the ultimate objective
of global peace and prosperity.

“War does not
determine who is right - only who is left.” ― Bertrand Russell

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

“We are visitors on this planet. We
are here for one hundred years at the very most. During that period we must try
to do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you contribute to
other people's happiness, you will find the true meaning of life.” ― Dalai Lama
XIV

People often waste their precious time
without realizing that the life is very short. At times they waste their time, money,
energy and resources to fight against others. At the end of their lives, they
realize their folly but it is too late. Most of them die with regrets at their
deathbeds.

When you look at Steve Jobs, he knew
that he would die due to cancer. He valued every moment and spent his time with
his family and the things that were close to his heart. He rightly remarked,
“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be
trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t
let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most
important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow
already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” He
followed his heart and invested his entire life in passionate areas and brought
a qualitative difference in the lives of others. So why don’t you learn to live wisely and
qualitatively to provide meaning to your life and make a difference in the
lives of others?

Conclusion

“Over short time periods, people are
more likely to regret actions taken and mistakes made. Over a long time, they
are more likely to regret actions not taken, such as missed opportunities for
love or working too hard.” ― Melanie Greenberg, clinical psychologist

We are only on this planet for a very
short time. Accept the fact that you have a limited time at your disposal.
Learn to enjoy the present without worrying about your unpleasant past and
thinking about your future unnecessarily. Future cannot be predicted and past
cannot be changed. What you have now is the present. Learn to live with the
present. Enjoy your life qualitatively. Always think of adding value to others to
make a difference in their lives. Life is great!

“Live today the way you want to be
remembered tomorrow.” — Dillon Burroughs

This is a nonprofit blog to share
Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global
leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by
email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright
is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in. This material may not be sold, or published
in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party
without permission.

Sunday, 7 August 2016

“My dad was a Punjabi from Amritsar,
and my mom is a Punjabi from Kashmir. My dad was a soldier in the Indian Army.”
― Akshay Kumar

“Superstars come and go. I want to
make sure I am always a producer's actor. I may be refused to be called a great
actor but I have never troubled any of my producers in my life. Honesty always
catches the camera, and that is what my strength is.” ― Akshay Kumar

I am a keen observer of success people
in the world. I am passionate about observing the successes and failures of
people, and of course, mostly about successful people. I have been observing
the children of military people achieving success in spite of odds stacked
against them. Whether it is in the film industry or any other area, the
children of military personnel perform their best. I found them acquiring great
qualities from their parents such as rising early, being punctual, disciplined
and dedicated. They are good time managers with work ethics and
professionalism. One Indian actor who proudly talks about his military background
is Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar whose father served in Indian Army. He is
honest, down-to-earth and humble. He is a family man and a home bird. He has a
great attitude and seldom criticizes others. He works hard, manages his time
effectively and enjoys vacationing with his family. He is resilient. He
survived in the Indian film industry for more than two decades because of these
qualities without any film industry lineage.

My
Experience in Indian Air Force

I served in Indian Air Force and
always take pride in wearing uniform and serving my nation as a soldier. I have
the habit of observing the success of military people and their children. There
are a number of reasons for their success. They encounter several hardships in
military and have the ability to get along with other communities and cultures.
They have fraternity and camaraderie. They have higher emotional intelligence
than civilians. They respect all cultures and communities. They see
similarities, not differences. They are flexible and adaptable; and bounce back
from failures quickly. They move to
different locations to due to postings to their parents, and have the ability
to get adjusted with inclement weather conditions. They undergo several
challenges due to relocation to different places and typically attend several
schools. It gives them unique and rich experience which is missing in
civilians. They become amicable and adjustable and jell with others easily.
They are tolerant towards others. They
are adventurous and risk takers. In fact, risk is an integral part of their
lives. They explore and experiment and learn lessons from their mistakes
quickly. They demonstrate positive attitude and winning spirit.

Real
Leaders Grow from Challenges

The children of military people are
exposed to the outside world, and are aware of the challenges and ground
realities. They become empathetic. They are great communicators and network
with others easily. They can work in team and build teams successfully and
excel as leaders. They overcome insurmountable obstacles in armed forces and
become courageous and great decision makers. They make friends easily and value
friendship more because they are away from their relatives. They are warm,
friendly and helpful. Above all, the patriotic fervor runs high in them. Hence,
their success rate is higher.

Real leaders grow from
challenges. The children of military
people undergo several trials and tribulations due to different geographical
locations, climates and multiple schools, and grow as true leaders. Although we
cannot conclude that the children of military people alone succeed but it is
fact that their success rate is certainly higher than their counterparts in
civil life. Jai Hind!

Note: This article is dedicated to the
children of military people for growing as leaders and coming out with flying
colors in spite of facing several hardships.

This is a nonprofit blog to share
Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global
leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by
email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright
is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in. This material may not be sold, or published
in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party
without permission.

Sunday, 31 July 2016

“Lost wealth may be replaced by
industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but
lost time is gone forever.” ― Samuel Smiles

One day when I was writing a chapter for
mytentatively titled book,
“Spark: 21 Success Principles to Unleash the Leader in You” my elder son,
Ganesh Sai asked me to visit his office for ‘annual day’ event along with my
wife. He was working in private company after completion of his graduation to
gain experience. I stopped writing the chapter, thought for a moment and asked
my son the following 3 questions:

How much time do I have to spend for the event?

How much money do I have to spend for the event?

Are there any takeaways from the event?

My elder son replied to my first
question that I must spend a day for the event. For the second question, he
replied that we must spend 100 US dollars for the event.

For the third question, he replied
that there will not be any takeaways from the event.

Then I replied to him as follows: You
know very well that I have important international assignments lined up to the
year 2020. If I spend a day for such an event, I waste a day of my life, and
there will be delay in my deadlines and commitments. Secondly, it is not
advisable to spend 100 US dollars for the event. Thirdly, I don’t learn
anything and gain anything from the event. As a result, I won’t be able to
share anything with others. Then why should I attend the event?

My son was surprised with my response.
I shared with him that whenever he undertakes any assignment; he must calculate
risk factor, time factor, and the value-addition involved in it to lead a
meaningful life. I further advised him
that if the risk is lesser and return is higher, he can invest his precious
time, money and energy to undertake the assignments.

The message from this story is that time
is more than money. If you waste a second, you wasted one second of your life.
God gifted us a fixed span of life. We must understand how to utilize our time
effectively. Whether rich or poor, all are blessed with time. Hence, we must
utilize our time intelligently. If you lose your money, you can earn but you
cannot get back your lost time. Jim Rohn once remarked, "Time is our most
valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than
invest it." To summarize, we must understand the value of time to
understand value of our life. Remember, time management is life management.
Hence, invest your time wisely to provide meaning to your life.

This is a nonprofit blog to share
Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global
leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by
email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright
is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in. This material may not be sold, or published
in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party
without permission.